Ning Huo turned around, facing the different gods pointing their dao's all at him. Yao Wang did this. Now, Yao Wang needed a way to get Ning Huo out of here. Yao Wang had made a mistake. Yao Wang had done something wrong. Yao Wang shouldn't have brung him here. Yao Wang shouldn't have done any of this.
Ning Huo rolled his shoulders, before bowing to the gods. None of them cared. None of them lowered their daos. Yao Wang sighed, stepping to stand in front of Ning Huo. He could see the black, red, and orange sky of the Ghost Realm. It was horrific. He could feel a hand on Yao Wang's shoulder. "He killed thousands of innocent people," Chao Ju whispered in his ear. Yao Wang regretted being here.
"Can you handle it, Hsien Lian? Or should I?" Chao Ju asked. Yao Wang stared at Ning Huo. He didn't want to hear Chao Ju whispering in his ear. He didn't want to hear anything bad about Ning Huo. He knew it was true, yet he still didn't want to hear it. "Hsien Lian? That's your name?" Ning Huo asked. Yao Wang didn't say anything to the ghost. He shifted, a blue glow floating from his feet to his head. His blue and white royal hanfu began to unfold Hsien Lian's light hair turning dark, his blue pants turning into blankets of layed cloth. Hsien Lian grabbed his dao, pointing it at Ning Huo's heart.
"Get away from me." Yao Wang muttered.
Chao Ju did, stepping back into the crowd of gods. Ning Huo smiled softly at Hsien Lian. "I'm sorry." Yao Wang whispered. He could feel everybody's eyes on him. He could feel god staring at him, waiting for him to push the big bad wolf off the cliff. He stared into Ning Huo's crimson eyes.
"I remember when I was little. My mom told me not to do bad in the world. Don't be evil. It was the last thing that happened to her before she disappeared. Went to Tao Wu's temple, and never returned. I… had no one. So, I stole food. And water, I had to. But one day, I guess I stole from the wrong person. When they found out that I was stealing, they burned my hand."
It didn't seem like Ning Huo was telling a story to the Heavenly Deities, instead only Hsien Lian. Only the Flower God. Only the god that can hear him. Ning Huo's soft whispers, soft words. Hsien Lian loosened his grip, his blade ready to fall out of his hand at any moment.His breath unsteady, tears flooding into his eyes softly, but Hsien Lian didn't dare let them fall. Ning Huo smiled sadly.
"I was so mad at the gods for taking my mom. It was impossible, but I was a child, you know? I believed in the boogeyman and monsters under my bed. So when I burned, I was sent over there. I was so lonely, so hidden. So I did something I did when I was human. I learned. I learned how to create reverse talismans, I learned how to make spells. Everything you could learn in the Ghost Realm, I learned."
I wanted to kill Tao Wu and Jing Mei and everyone, because they took my mom. But,when I grew up, I learned. I learned that it didn't have anything to do with gods. I still was annoyed by you and your high and mighty personalities, but I respected gods. But, when I met you, Yao Wang. You were my first friend. My first best friend. My first…. Well. Thank you.``
It seemed both of them were crying, but for what reason? Why should they be crying? A kid who had everything, somehow had fallen. And a kid who had nothing, gained everything. "I…. I can't do this." Hsien Lian whispered, dropping the dao onto the plush grass. Yao Wang sniffled, shaking his head. Ning Huo sighed, crouching to the ground.
He picked up Hsien Lian's dao, grabbing it with his bare hand. Blood swept through as the blade cut his hand, but Ning Huo continued to smile, holding the dao. Hsien Lian stared at his hand, worried. "Your hand will get infected." Hsien Lian whispered. Ning Huo smiled, shaking his head. "I'll be fine. Take it."
Hsien Lian was hesitant, not wanting to go anywhere near the blade. Cold wet tears fell down his face. Hsien Lian sniffled, hesitantly grabbing the leather. Ning Huo stepped back, letting go of the blade. "Hsien Lian.." NIng Huo whispered, trying to look down to get Hsien Lian's blue eyes. Hsien Lian didn't let him, looking down. "No." He said instantly.
Ning Huo sighed, giving up. It was a stalemate, but even a stalemate left Ning Huo in danger. "Hsien Lian…" Ning Huo said softly once again. Hsien Lian still didn't budge. "No, no. I- I won't do it." Hsien Lian kept his head to the ground. "Hsien Lian. If you don't do it, someone else will." Ning Huo said seriously. The world seemed quiet, soundless. Only two of them in the world.
"Don't die." Hsien Lian whispered, finally looking into his eyes. He seemed weak, sick, though he was one of the strongest beings in the three realms. He looked like he was the weakest. Yet he had a happy look on his face. A soft, hopeful smile. Hsien Lian couldn't help but smile back.
He lifted his dao, pushing his arm back. "I'm so sorry."
In a swift moment, the blade pierces through Ning Huo's body. Hsien Lian could feel the tip of the sword going through the different layers of the body, until it reaches the other end, a smooth hole going through. Hsien Lian gasped for air that didn't seem to know how to go in. He couldn't breathe, but he'll be fine. It was the man in front of him that he worried about.
Ning Huo took a couple of steps, stumbling, before regaining his balance. He looked down at the wound, still smiling. He placed around the dao's blade, his hanfu soaked in crimson blood. He looked back up at Hsien Lian, nodding his head.
No words were said throughout the valley as Hsien Lian took a single step forward. Ning Huo was already close to the edge, close to falling. Hsien Lian took another step. Ning Huo didn't look back as he didn't the same, knowing that one of these steps would be his last. It was a roulette game. No- a waiting game.
Hsien Lian could feel the cold wind on his cheek, tearing freezing on his red face. Both hands gripped the leather handle, his throat thick and painful. "I'm sorry." Hsien Lian whispered Ning Huo continued to smile, as he wasn't going to fall. As if he wasn't going to get hurt.
Another step.
"Don't be." Ning Huo whispered as he took a step back But it wasn't. It wasn't fine, how could something like this be fine. He was falling, he was going to fall. But why? He didn't need to fall, he didn't need to end like this. All Ning Huo had to do was say 'stop'. Say 'no.' Hsien Lian would listen to him instantly, he would nod his head and heal him and make sure he was ok. He would save him and feed him and keep him cold.
Another step.
This step however, was placed downward, Ning Huo's body falling from the ground. It seemed like everything was in slow motion. The way he fell, the way his body tilted backwards, falling with his face to the ground. The smile. The moving of his mouth. "I will be ok." He whispered. I was soft enough for no one to hear, soft enough for no one to listen. Yet it was like he was yelling. Yelling to Hsien Lian, something that Hsien Lian couldn't quite decipher. His hand slid as he let go of the dao.
"NING HUO!" He yelled, collapsing to his knees. He reached out, expecting for the ghost to grab his hand. To hold it tightly. To tell him that it was alright, and that he'll be ok. TO tell him that he would be right here when Hsien Lian came back. That constant, Ning Huo would be that constant.
Hsien Lian could see all the things he did wrong. All the things that he had messed up on. It was a list, long and pitiful. Something Hien Lian wouldn't be able to unsee. Hsien Lian would not allow those to be the last words that Ning Huo hears. The last words the Ghost King, The Lavender farmer, the magic man, his XIngYing will not be those.
Hsien Lian held his hand out, but for a different reason. He knew he wouldn't be able to reach Ning Huo. He wouldn't be able to grab him. But he knew what could. A blue light sprouted from Hsien Lian's wrists, where the lavender flower sat, flowing down to his palm. "PLease , Xui." He whispered softly, delicately. A mystic blue and white swirl circle around his wrists. It distorted the world around it,Hsien Lian's vision tinted with blue. The spirit, with a mind of its own, flew down to Ning Huo faster than the speed of light, surrounding him. It will protect him from anything. From everything.
He felt someone from behind him drag him back. Drag him far enough from the cliff that he couldn't see the edges. He could see Ning Huo. The person behind him hugged him. Tao Wu ran up to the edge of the cliff, scanning it before sighing. Hsien Lian looked down at the grass. As the person behind him hugged deity, Hsien Lian felt something.
A crystal white, clear butterfly floated up from the trench. Hsien Lian gasped, pushing the man away to grab it. It's edges were barely out of reach. Barely too far. Hsien Lian reached out as far as he could. The butterfly slowly fluttered over to him, falling onto his hand. It was light as feathers, light as air. Hsien Lian was slow with his movement, pulling his hand close to his face to see the butterfly.
It was see through, only the metallic shimmers outlining the diamond butterfly. Warmth flooded his body the same way Ning Huo did. Hsien ian sat down at the edge of the trench, holding the clear butterfly close to his heart. Only two words formed left his mouth.
"I'm sorry."